Draconequus, Beautiful Chaos
by Maleda
Summary: Long ago Princesses Celestia and Luna defeated Discord, but his influence on the two carried on. Eons later, Fluttershy discovers romance in her young life. How could these events be connected?
1. In the Beginning

In the beginning, there was chaos.

The land of Equestria lay in ruin. Pegasus, Unicorn, and Earth ponies alike suffered famine, disease, and war. Rivers flowed backwards into the mountains, drying the plains and freezing the peaks solid. The sun and moon shared the sky, never setting, scorching the earth, burning the forests, and boiling the sea. The Pegasus' clouds evaporated away and the air was too hot to fly in without their feathers catching fire.

All ponies were forced to dwell in shadows. They suffered. Some even went mad and murder, cannibalism, and mutilation became commonplace. Life in Equestria was a living Hell.

And at the throne of this chaos sat Discord, laughing with glee. The pain the ponies endured as mountains toppled down or as their neighbors went insane brought him joy. He couldn't get enough of it.

Some ponies tried to resist Discord. Some even sought to cast him from his throne. But these ponies underestimated his power and his cruelty, and it wasn't long before they were destroyed or tortured into insanity. The ponies in Equestria slowly gave up hope that there would be any salvation. The world was so without hope that ponies began to give up on life itself, laying down an letting themselves die. Their bodies piled up, decaying rapidly in the scorching sun until all that remained were their brittle, sun-bleached bones.

Finally two daughters of the sky, a Alicorn of the sun and her sister, of the moon, could no longer stand idle and watch the ponies suffer. Against the will of their predecessors the sisters descended to the earth. The eldest commanded the sun to take refuge beneath the horizon to allow the air to cool. The younger commanded the moon to wash the world with its gentle light and shift the tides, calming the sea and bringing the rivers back from the mountains.

The water quenched the drought-stricken earth. The eldest Alicorn raised a gentler, kinder sun. It's rays nurtured the quenched earth and helped plants sprout. The forests began to grow again, the plains stopped burning, and very, very slowly life began to return to Equestria.

But the Equestrian Hell would not be fully healed until the two sisters confront Discord. And now, the time has come to face him.


	2. Battlefield

Celestia and Luna stood side by side, gazing out into the scourged valley before them. Dismayed, Celestia's usually proud, erect figure slumped sadly.

"Even with our magic," she said. "The powers of the sun and the moon... all the things we've done to heal this place... we couldn't save them from this..."

Celestia's soft pink mane blew back and forth in the smoke-filled wind. Before the sisters laid a battlefield. Hundreds of ponies lay dead in the valley, fire springing up here and there, eating away at the corpses. Scowling at the flames, Celestia flicked her horn and the fire quickly died away.

"I don't think there was anything we could do," Luna said. "Ponies are creatures with will beyond our control, and Discord has twisted their spirits so with this calamity."

Anger flared up in Celestia's chest at Discord's name. "He will pay for the things he's done," she said angrily. "Come, Luna. Help me search for survivors."

Celestia carefully stepped into the valley, Luna fluttering behind. The scene was even more sickening up close. It was all Celestia could do not to collapse, screaming, in anger. She had to keep her head if she and her sister were to defeat Discord. She stopped, careful to place her hooves where no bodies lay. Her eyes drifted over the body of a young filly. Her soft blue mane was matted with blood, and her neck and back leg were bent in unnatural directions. Her blank eyes stared into the twilit, smoky sky, and Celestia noticed she was nearly scowling in death. She could see all the hatred that the filly felt in her short life and the rage she unleashed on the battlefield.

"What sort of world is this where little fillies like you lived with so much hate?" she said. Lifting her hoof Celestia gently closed the filly's eyes. Kneeling down briefly, she said the little pony, "I'm sorry. I should have come sooner."

Celestia stood again, and looked at her sister who was watching nearby. "I should have listened to you Luna," she said. "I hesitated for too long." Luna landed and carefully folded her wings. Celestia's sorrow was mirrored in her face. "Sister please," Luna said. "Don't blame yourself."

Celestia didn't answer, her gaze dropping sadly from Luna to the ponies on the ground. She closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow. Luna did the same. Celestia and Luna's spell stretched itself over the valley, feeling for any signs of life. Celestia felt nothing, no sign of beating heart or the gentle pulse of a soul. Even the grass and weeds had no will for life. It was utter nothingness, a sea of black. It was the deadest scene Celestia had ever felt.

"Sister," Celestia heard Luna's little voice plead. Celestia opened her eyes to find that they were wet, pouring down tears. She quickly wiped them away.

"Come Luna," she said. "I'm afraid we're powerless he-"

Then, suddenly, the tiniest glimmer of life sparked in the valley. "Luna!" Celestia cried, quickly dashing of, desperate to find the pony before it was too late. Unfurling her massive wings, Celestia took flight in a flurry of white feathers.

* * *

><p>The colt was buried beneath several other bodies. He was just barely conscious. A spear was embedded in his left flank and all of his legs were broken. One of them seemed to have been broken several times and twisted grotesquely in several directions. He was disappointed that he could barely feel it. Apparently pain can become so intense that you start to become numb to it. What frustrated him even more was that he was still alive. He had survived the battle, and it was a most shameful thing. He took comfort in the thought that eventually he'd lose enough blood to lose consciousness and eventually he would die. He figured that would have to be enough.<p>

He opened the only eye he had left and found that he could see a bit of the sky through the bodies that buried him. Through the black clouds of smoke he could see that is was twilight. The sun had gone but it's light still streamed across the sky, staining the clouds with a gentle pinkish glow. The colt had found the phenomenon of the sun's cycle quite odd when he first witnessed it. He had grown up by torchlight. He had been raised knowing that the sun only brought burning death. Now it rises and falls regularly, warming the sky with the heat a million times gentler than it had been before and eventually giving way to the moon. The moon was even odder. It had always shared the sky with the sun, mirroring it's intensity and reflecting its heat. By itself, though, it gave off a silver watery light. It was calming, in a way. Calm was a very strange phenomenon indeed. And as the colt lay there looking up at the sky, he could only think of how much he hated it.

Calm suppressed you. It eats away at your ambition, makes you lazy, slow, weak. Chaos brought power. Chaos brought freedom. Chaos let the colt take the lives of other ponies. Chaos made him superior. Made him the master off all the souls he's released. Order...Order was a tumor.

Soft white feathers suddenly blocked his view of the sky and the weight crushing down on him slowly lessened. When the last body was remove from him, he saw two bright angels standing above him.

At first he was relieved; he thought that he had already died and was about to be escorted to... wherever he was supposed to go. Heaven, Hell, whatever. All that mattered was that he was dead. But then he realized... he could still feel life. Surely in death he wouldn't feel the weight of his bones or the beating of his heart in his chest. He looked up at the figures and saw their wings flutter and fold to their sides. He saw their horns...horns. Horns and wings. The colts mind was slow but he eventually realized: Alicorns. Goddesses. Demons...The ones who tamed the sun and moon. The bringers of order. Order was a tumor. And tumors needed to be removed.


	3. Stars

Ok so I've been told that the correct term is Alicorn, not Pegacorn. I knew about the term Alicorn already, but I wasn't sure if I was stealing from someone else who came up with it or something. I've tried changing it and hopefully FFN will take it. But for know just know that I know I've made a mistake and enjoy the following chapter!

* * *

><p>Celestia looked down at the broken colt. He had lost a lot of blood and was fading fast. Celestia worried that they may not be able to help him. She turned to Luna.<p>

"Luna, quickly! A healing spell, anythi-" a gurgling, hateful roar suddenly burst from the pony's mouth. With unbridled rage he launched forth from the ground, heedless of his broken bones and impaled flank.

With the last of his strength the colt launched himself at Celestia, colliding with her chest and knocking her over. Together Celestia and colt fell into the piles of bodies. The pony bit and flailed his broken limbs, bludgeoning Celestia's chin and neck with everything he had left. The spear tore from his flank with all the movement, bringing a chunk of flesh with it.

"SISTER!" Luna cried. In one swift motion she pulled the pony from Celestia and held him the ground with her hoof on his chest.

The last of the colt's strength faded. He could only stare at the pegacorns, his bloodshot eye wide with anger and hate, his body quivering with exhaustion and rage. Celestia heaved herself up, sporting a shallow cut and several bruises but nothing too traumatic. Her expression was a mixture of shock and dismay. She approached the colt.

"My little pony," she breathed. "Why...Why do you do this?"

The pony's breathing was becoming ragged, and his breath rattled painfully in his lungs. "y-y...you..." he choked. "you're a tumor...tu...mor..."

"Tumor?" Celestia replied. "I don't understand."

"You... want to put an end to chaos...to bring... order... suppression..."

"Suppression? No, I-"

A bloody cough seized the pony's body momentarily. Celestia saw blood starting to trickle out of his mouth.

"freedom...that's what chaos is..."

"Freedom?" Celestia said. "You believe that this world is a free world? You're wrong. Discord is the one suppressing you, don't you understand?"

The colt laughed at the sisters, his wheezing breath rattling in his throat. "I remember! I remember that...that idea. But now I know that peace...order...how boring it all is! I can do whatever I want here! Chaos! Discord is MY LIBERATOR!" His lungs punished him for his outburst with an eruption of blood that spilled over his face and dripped the ground.

Celestia knelt down beside the dying pony. She caught sight of his unwounded flank and saw that his cutie mark was of a bloody sword.

"I see. Discord had corrupted you so much you've started to believe that this is how the world should be. But listen, my little pony. If you could see how the world was supposed to be you'd understand. You'll see. When we put everything right, you'll understand. You may not like it, but I promise you I will defeat Discord."

"We both will," Luna said.

The colts breathing became almost non-existant. His one good eye looked between the two sisters. With his last breath he whispered, "Fear him, angels. Fear him in this valley of death..."

His eye slipped closed, and his body was still.

Celestia rose, and turned away from the Luna and the colt.

"Sister?" Luna said. She stepped away from the body and moved to Celestia's side. She looked at her face and saw the one thing in her sister that she feared: pure rage and hatred. Luna had always known that her sister was passionate. She reflected her cutie mark perfectly; blazing, burning passion. But also, anger. Luna had known for a long time that if Celestia should ever be overcome with rage, it would burn uncontrollably until nothing was left. Luna saw the sun that was just below the horizon brighten threateningly and take on a redder hue.

Luna unfurled her wing and rested it gently across the shoulders of her big sister. Concentrating her magic, Luna gently lifted the moon from the opposite horizon, washing it's light across the valley. Celestia's tense muscles relaxed, her head drooped slightly, and the last light of the sun faded away. Luna rested her head on Celestia's shoulder and said, "Don't worry Cel. There's nothing we can't do if we're together. We'll put everything right again, I promise."

Celestia looked up at the night sky, drinking in the moon's cool light.

"You always make the most beautiful sky, Luna. So gentle and kind."

Luna followed Celestia's gaze and said, "I thought perhaps it was a bit too dark, so I made something else to keep the moon company."

Luna's horn glowed gently and tiny silver sparks flew softly from the tip. Celestia stared at the sky in awe as millions of tiny silver pinpoints of light shot across the sky. Some blazed brighter than others and some even took on different colors. The lights danced swiftly across the sky, each one eventually coming to an abrupt stop in the sky until the blackness was filled with breathtaking sparkle. A few of the lights didn't stop at all but shot across the sky and behind the horizon.

"Luna..." Celestia breathed.

"Do you like it? I call them Stars. A left a few of them loose to dance around the sky, but they have a tendency to just shoot straight for the horizon. And if you look closely, some of the stars are arranged into patterns. I was thinking maybe calling them constellations. Each one is supposed to represent something. What do you think-"

Celestia, tears in her eyes, wrapped her neck around Lunas in an embrace.

"It's beautiful, Luna. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen..."

Luna leaned into her beloved sister. "I love you, Cel."

"And I love you, Luna."

* * *

><p>Discord sat in the highest spire of his castle watching the night sky fill with dancing lights. The patterns seemed erratic and random, each light burning with a life of its own, claiming its own place in the sky. Some of the lights refused to sit still and quickly zoomed across the black and behind the horizon. Discord smiled. It was beautiful sight and it had the gentles hint of chaos to it. The new night sky also told Discord that the sisters were there and their power was growing. And that meant that they would come for him very soon.<p>

He would get to see her again. Discord's fist gleefully crushed together at the thought. Oh the things he's been waiting to do...


	4. Calamity

"No, please! Don't drop me!"

Discord levitated the pegasus just outside one the castle's highest windows.

"Why not?" he asked. "You're a pegasus, after all. And you're precious little goddess has dampened the sun for you."

The pony didn't answer, she was too afraid and choked with tears. Even without looking at them he knew her sparse, misused wings wouldn't be able to support her. It's been too long, after all, since the pegasus ponies could fly.

She was a very brave pony, Discord had to admit. She barely even flinched when Discord went into town for her. She and a small group of ponies were spreading the idea that their saviors had come, that chaos was nearing its end. How could he tolerate it? It hadn't taken long to figure out that her greatest, and perhaps only fear was heights.

"Trust me," he said. "There's nothing those two can do to save you."

Through her tears the pony scowled furiously. "Don't you dare say that!" She cried. "Don't you dare!"

Discord stepped out of the window and hovered around the pony still suspended in midair. He could see her shaking despite her best efforts to hide it.

"You'll see, Discord. Soon they'll come and put you in your place!"

"You think so? You think they'll save you? Then tell me this, why did they wait so long? They sat up in the sky and watched you suffer for ages. Why?"

The pony was silent for a moment, scowling at Discord. Finally she said, "that doesn't matter. None of that matters now. All that matters is now and now their here to stop you."

"A bit late, don't you think?" He said. "Do you really think that this world isn't past saving? You don't think chaos has lived here too long, changed life, ponies, too much?" He circled around the pony like a vulture. He took note of the mark on her flank: a white feather engulfed in sparks at its base. Probably something to so with her rebellious spirit. He could fix that.

"Go to hell."

Discord ignored her statement. "Tell me, pony. What is your name?"

The pony was silent.

"What is your name?"

The pony's gaze shifted away from Discord. "...Calamity."

"Calamity," Discord repeated. "A beautiful word. Another word for chaos. Another word for Discord. Tell me," He stopped circling, pausing behind her. He reached out a sharp yellow talon. "You think that a world that names its children after me can still be saved?" He brushed the back of her neck with the eagle hand, watching in satisfaction as she squirmed with discomfort, then as her form drooped hopelessly and her vivid blue coat dampened in color, gray hairs appearing across it.

Defeated, Calamity said, "no."

Discord smiled in satisfaction. He circled around her so he could look at her face. She stared back hopelessly. He smiled wider.

"Now don't be so sad, Calamity. Here," He snapped his fingers and Calamity felt her wings grow stronger. Muscle thickened around her shoulder blades and wing appendages.

"Now go fly to your friends and tell them what you've learned."

She didn't answer. She only looked at him with that same look of hopelessness and defeat in her eyes. Then she bent her head and looked up at the sky. A million lights danced above her. She remembered watching them appear. She remembered trying desperately to fly, to get a closer look at them. They were the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She turned her head to the horizon and knew that the sun would soon peek at her with that gentle golden hue like it always did in the mornings.

Discord could tell what she was thinking. He released the spell that held the pony in the air and watched her gray form plummet to the ground, a soft trail of tears chasing her down.

The window was high but the fall took nearly no time at all. Even so Calamity's brain had more than enough time to remember who she had to thank for the sky. The two sisters who painted the night and the day so beautifully; anyone who could bring so much beauty into the world...they had to be her saviors.

At that moment the sun spilled its rich light across the horizon, and the last thing that Calamity saw was the pink and orange light staining the navy, light-speckled sky; the night and day dancing in tandem above her.

Discord could just see her coat starting to return to its former color before she disappeared into the trees on the ground. Then he heard a loud, resounding thud.

"Hmp," he said. "Disappointing." Discord turned to the rising sun. "Come on Celestia. Stop stalling and come and get me already."

* * *

><p>Celestia finished raising the sun and turned to see Luna finishing up the moon for the day. She thought it was amazing how the stars stayed in one place, so easily blocked out by the sun's light. Celestia smiled. Everything about her sister was so gentle and kind. It made her envious sometimes.<p>

Luna turned to meet her sisters gaze.

"Cel," she said. "We've waited long enough. We've done all we can for the land, now lets go help the ponies."

"By defeating Discord?" Celestia asked.

Luna nodded.

"Of course, Luna. But he's very powerful. Our magic alone won't be able to stop him."

"I suppose you're right," Luna replied. "We don't exactly have magic we can use to hurt him, not directly anyway. Our magic can only assist in bringing life."

"Exactly."

"Then what do we do? Go home and ask for help?"

"No. We can't, remember?"

"oh...yes. I know." Luna's head drooped sadly. "I suppose we can't ever go back. I'm sorry Celestia. Maybe I should have come on my own. It's unfair that you should also suffer."

"Oh, Luna. I couldn't just stand there and watch you fight alone. Besides, we're stronger when we're together. There's nothing we can't do, remember?"

Luna smiled. "yeah. But what do we do about Discord?"

Celestia looked up at the mountains that stretched across the forest and valley.

"There's a griffon around here somewhere. She's supposed to be old. Very old. Perhaps even older than us."

"You're talking about Grace? Grace the Griffon? She really exists?"

Celestia turned to face her sister. "Of course. Why wouldn't she be?"

Luna shifted shyly. "I just thought she was a legend. You know, a rumor. I mean, a griffon? Here? After all this time?"

"She's not just any griffon, Luna. She's one of the first. If anyone knows Discord, it's her."

"And anyone who knows Discord may know the way to defeat him."

"Exactly."

"Discord must be from the Beginning." Luna said.

"It's possible."

"That means you must have met him before, right?"

"I-I don't think so," Celestia said. "In the Beginning-everything was on the same level. The alicorns, earth creatures; everything, everyone lived on one level. I met a lot of creatures in those days."

"I was born after that, so I wouldn't know."

"Indeed. If I had ever met Discord before...I would remember." Celestia looked away from Luna and back at the mountains ahead of them.

Luna said, "Come on. If we're going to find Grace we've got to get started. We don't have any time to waste."

"Of course. Let's go."

The two sisters opened their wings and took flight and headed to the rocky mountains beneath which generations of ponies had lived before, and where the griffon should live now.

* * *

><p>Authors Note: hey HEY hey! I see some new people have added this story to their watch list. I hope I satisfy you!<p>

I wrote this chapter literally in one sitting so forgive me if it's a bit sparse. Also forgive me for repetition, my vocabulary isn't as wide as I'd like it to be.


	5. Mountains and Forests

The mountains were a rocky labyrinth. Even with flight the sisters were baffled. They would come to an intersection in the mountains that offered paths in several different directions. When they would choose one, they would only be brought to yet another set of paths, almost identical to the ones before. They soon became confused as to what direction they were going and from which they had come. Any trails that may have been on the ground among the rocks were obscured by leafless mountain trees and a sinister, curling mist. Above them the sky was filled with white, foggy clouds that obscured the mountain peaks and dangerously limited their vision.

"Sister?" Luna said nervously. "I think we're lost."Celestia angled her wings and leaned her body, turning from their current path and approaching a nearby ledge. Fluttering her wings she touched down on the mountain and Luna followed suit. Celestia looked around and saw the mountain they stood on had a clear enough path.

"I think we're going to have to walk," Celestia said. "Grace will most likely be at the peak. Griffons, as far as I know, like high places. Also I would assume that she'd want to be as far away from the earth ponies as possible."

"Why can't we just fly up there?"

"It's too dangerous. We would only be able to see a few feet in front of us in those clouds. We wouldn't be able to tell how fast we were going and if we saw that we were about to collide with the side of the mountain, it would be too late to swerve and avoid it."

"Oh, I see. Okay then. How will we know which mountain to look for her on? There must be hundreds of them."

Celestia surveyed the area. "I think our best bet would be the highest of them. This one seems to have one of the largest bases so it's probably higher than the others. Let's see if we can't get above the clouds. The mountains in this region are certainly tall enough to do so."

"It's a plan then. Let's go, there's no time to waste."Luna trotted off up the sloping trail. Celestia called after her, "Be careful, Luna." Celestia smiled at how familiar the phrase was to her lips. The two of them have always looked after each other. Celestia quickly followed Luna up the path.

* * *

><p>Discord lounged in a high tree, watching the ponies mill about in town below him. He thought about what to do next. He'd turned their houses upside down a few months ago, and they were never put upright again so he couldn't do that twice. He looked thoughtfully at the dirt road. He snapped his fingers and it instantly turned to ice beneath the ponies' hooves. They slipped an slid, yelping out in surprise. Many of them fell right down and a few who tried to stay upright and walk normally spun out of control and collided with buildings, crates, or other ponies. Discord had again underestimated the bounds of laughter that bubbled up his chest. With it came the absolute joy that he coveted so much. He lived for that joy. The sight of a small foal sliding into a group of fallen ponies who were trying to get back up and knocking them all over again sent another huge wave of laughter through Discord.<p>

Sighing with satisfaction, and also to regain the breath that he had lost, Discord thought about how lucky he was to have a pony settlement so close to the castle. He supposed that he only had to thank himself. The slaves that built the castle so long ago had to have a place to live, right? And naturally their children grew up there, so on and so stretched his back and leaned back in the tree, cracking his knuckles. Yes, it was perfect. His castle was surrounded by a dense, dark forest in which the ponies had made their home. It was easy to conceal things in the trees and undergrowth that would appear and scare the bejesus out them. He chuckled at the thought.

Then, suddenly, he thought of the mare he dropped from the balcony a few hours ago. Why hadn't he laughed as hard then? Sure, the sight of her hopelessness did bring a little bit of pleasure, but not the barrels of laughs he usually got. He thought maybe looking back at the event would make him laugh, but it didn't. He tried to figure out exactly what it made him feel like. In a small burst of light he vanished from his perch and appeared once again in his castle. He found his way to the balcony from which he dropped Calamity, and he leaned casually against the stone railing. "Disappointing," that's what he had said when she'd fallen. It had been disappointing to him that she had not taken flight and returned to town where she would have quarreled with her little resistance group. They would have broken up. The harmony between them would have been broken. It would have been wonderful. It would have been hilarious, watching all those ponies fight over theirs cause. Some would have given up and gone on with their miserable lives. A few might have become desperate and come at him in a last-ditch effort. Eventually, though, the resistance would have no. She had to remember. Calamity began to remember her faith in the alicorns, and he couldn't have had that. He had to drop her. Discord looked down to where her body had disappeared through the leaves. She hadn't recovered enough to regain the will to fly and save herself. It would have been entertaining if she had; he could have had a good time chasing her down, at least.

But no, it had been a complete loss. He stared down into the trees, knowing that her body would probably still be there. The beasts the lived in the forest wouldn't venture too close to the castle, let alone the ponies. Wether it was out of boredom or curiosity he didn't know, but nevertheless Discord lit from the balcony and plunged gracefully down to the trees could see the trail of destruction that she had made in the tree, it's smaller branches broken unnaturally. He twisted and weaved between the branches with ease, disturbing not one there she was. Laying dead on the ground. She had landed on her shoulder and she now lay on her side, her legs spread out in front of her and her wings stretched out dramatically. Discord noticed her blank eyes. They were bright shades of orange and red and stood out against her blue mane and coat. He thought the warm sparks in her cutie mark complemented her eyes well. He had to admit that she had been a good looking mare.

"And what a shame that is," he said at the thought. "The pretty ones are always the first to go, aren't they?" He would have liked to keep her alive; he liked pretty mares. But she had been too much of a threat, and she had to go. "Well," he said, as he turned back towards the balcony. "It was your own fault, my dear."

He weaved up through the trees again, leaving Calamity's body in the dirt

* * *

><p>Calamity laid there on the ground. Her tears had long since fallen and dried on the ground, but she knew the parched grass was thankful for the water. The plants seemed to have their own consciences now. She didn't know how she knew. It's not like they could speak or anything. But she could feel it somewhere deep inside her. She could feel their presence. Calamity figured it was something only the dead could feel. The spirit of plants, always somewhere between life and death, ever cycling between them...it made sense that she could feel them.<p>

Calamity was indeed dead. She could tell. She could feel it. Her body was cold and still. It no longer obeyed any command given by her. It could no longer function as a proper vessel for a soul. But Calamity held on anyway. She clung to her body with every last metaphorical fiber of her spirit, no matter how loudly the darkness called and tugged. She couldn't, wouldn't let go. She was afraid of the darkness. She was afraid of what might be coming. She didn't know what would happen if she let go. But also she knew she had to stay because she was waiting for something.

She didn't know what she had to wait for or why she knew at all, but she knew that the only thing left, the most important thing left for her was to stay for just a little bit longer.


	6. Grace

Gasping in the thin air, the two sisters emerged from the fog as they reached the peak of the mountain they were climbing.

"Finally," Luna said.

"Let's get to the very top so we can see," Celestia replied. The sisters trotted up the rocky slope until it evened out to form the very top of the mountain.

The view was spectacular. An endless sea of clouds stretched out before them, domed over by a brilliant, clear blue sky. Here and there Celestia could see the peaks of the tallest mountains poking out of the clouds.

"Celestia," Luna said. Celestia turned to face her sister, and saw she was smiling up at the sky. "It's endless. Such a deep blue. I feel like if I stare long enough it'll come down and engulf me."

Celestia took a step closer to Luna. "I'm glad you like it, sister," she said. "I think, though, that your sky is much more impressive. I doubt I'd ever be able to conjure up such a beautiful night."

Luna broke her staring match with the sky and looked Celestia in the eyes. "Both night and day are beautiful in their own special way, Celestia. Don't compare yourself to anyone, especially me." She gave her sister a kind smile. "Your sky is wondrous, sister. Don't every think any different."

Celestia smiled lovingly at her sister. "Thank you, Luna. You always seem to know what I'm thinking."

"We've been together our entire lives, of course I know what you're thinking. But then, you're easy to read."

"Hey," Celestia playfully kicked at Luna's leg. "This is no time for teasing." Her smile faded. "We must return to the task at hand. As you said, we have no time to waste."

Luna nodded. "Of course." She turned her gaze to the cloud valley, searching the blurry horizon. "Where should we go now?"

Celestia replied, "The tallest peak. Grace will most likely be residing in the grandest mountain. There," She motioned toward a peak in the distance. "That's the tallest we can see from here. Let's go there and see if we can't see a taller one."

The alicorns unfolded their great wings and took flight, drifting on the high-altitude currents to the next mountain. The cool air washed against their faces and over their feathers, playing in Celestia's pink mane and buffeting Luna's periwinkle hair. The flight was smooth and relaxing. Luna dipped low to the clouds and let her front hoof skim over the foggy surface like it was water. She tried to command the clouds to part, if only a little, but nothing happened. The clouds, like so many other things in Equestria, acted of their own accord and refused to obey the alicorn.

'they would obey father,' Luna thought. Of course they would. Everything obeyed Father. Luna wouldn't have described her father as tender or loving. It wasn't that he was cruel or unfriendly, but Luna and Celestia's Father had an air of ancient and intimidating power about him. He was stern and commanding and he loomed over other alicorns back home. Luna supposed that it made sense. He was their leader, after all. He had to be a bit scary sometimes. Before they left, Luna had started to think that their father didn't really love them very much. It wasn't until she told him they were leaving, until they watched him beg them to stay, that she realized how much he truly loved his daughters. An alicorn as powerful and stoic as he, to see him fall to his knees nearly in tears from their words... it was enough to cause Luna to reconsider briefly her decision to leave and save Equestria. But in the end the sisters' concern for the inhabitants of Equestria overwhelmed any pleas that their father could make.

Luna thought for a moment what she had done to her father. The pain she might be causing him. She flapped her wings and rose in the air, then turned over to fly with the clouds at her back, and the upper atmosphere in front of her. She felt the endless blue coming down on her again. She stared into the void, wondering if she stared long enough it would take her home. But she knew it was impossible.

'father,' Luna thought. 'please forgive me for leaving you. I promise to make you proud.'

A few hours later, the sisters alighted upon yet another peak above the clouds.

"This must be the one," Celestia said. It was vastly larger than any other peak they found up so high. It was nearly tall enough to serve as a second mountain rising up out of the clouds.

"Sister, the sun?" Luna said. Celestia turned to see that it had fallen significantly during their search, and Luna's night sky was starting to peek through the daylight. "Right. Let us begin the night so we can find Grace."

Celestia slowly pushed the sun beneath the clouds, watching as it stained the sky a warm mixture of oranges and yellows, then purples and even a bit of green. Finally the darkest blues and purples dominated the sky, the stars being the only light on the cloudscape. As the last rays of sun faded away, Luna raised the moon, it's silver light illuminating the sky. Celestia noticed it was smaller than the night before. Or rather, a sliver of it had turned black. "Luna, you're moon," she said, concerned. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"Oh, no no," Luna said hastily, trying to calm her sister. "I used pieces of it to make the stars. I took bits from the back, so all that's left is black. For some reason it prefers to rotate rather than stay still, so as the nights go on it'll get blacker and blacker until the light side starts showing again."

"Oh, I see," Celestia replied. "You can't make it stay still?"

"Well it's a stubborn rock. Either way, though, I thought I would let it do what it wants. Let it have a little freedom, you know?"

Celestia laughed softly. "Your night just keeps getting more and more interesting. I'm very proud of you, Luna."

Luna blushed, a smile finding its way across her face. "Thanks," she said shyly.

"But enough of that, it's time for us to find Grace. She's not far away."

"How can you tell?"

"Come further up the slope." Celestia walked up a path that branched off of the ridge they stood on. The mountain was very barren. The only plants surviving there were tiny weeds clinging to rocks and sheltering inside crevices. The rocks were gray in the nightlight and some were so polished by the wind that they reflected the moonlight with nearly mirror-like accuracy. Luna looked at the climb they had ahead of them. They could easily transcend the more difficult slopes by flying, but Luna's wings were worn out from the search before. Her lungs seemed to be having a harder time getting oxygen from the thin air, so extended flight was out of the question.

Doing as her sister asked, Luna followed her up the trail. Almost instantly as she neared were her sister stand Luna felt an old, familiar presence. It felt like

"Father," Luna said. That same ancient, powerful presence. The air was buzzing with it.

"No, not exactly," Celestia replied. "Grace's magic must be similar to Father's, though. That makes sense if she's really as old as we think she is."

"I'm just glad we found her," Luna said. "We're so close to finding out what can defeat Discord."

"Not if we stand around talking some more," Celestia gently nudged her sister with her wing. "Come on, no more dawdling." She led the way up the slope, Luna close behind. They navigated around boulders and treacherous ridges. There were many large gaps in the path that with one false step would send the alicorns down the whole mountain. As the sisters climbed higher the path got more difficult, twisting and turning, more rocks and crevices littering the way. On the way the mountain got more porous; small caves started to appear and dark crevices started to open up to small caverns in the rock. None were big enough to house a full-sized griffon, though. All the while the magical presence got stronger, and Luna felt an ancient instinct in her stomach start to tell her, "run away, something strong and powerful is ahead, it's dangerous." But she ignored it. She ignored her increasing nervousness and focused only on Celestia in front of her, leading the way.

Finally, the sisters turned a sharp corner, rounding around a large boulder, and came face to face with a large opening in the rock. A cluster of five large feathers marked the opening of the cave. Celestia could tell that somepony, or some griffon, had put them there intentionally. They were certainly no Pegasus pony's feathers; they were extremely large compared to a pegasi. They bore an old, faded brown but still gleamed in the moonlight. The feathers were fanned out beautifully, all coming together at their bases, and joined together with a beaded amulet, some of its strings hanging down freely.

"This is it," Celestia said. "come on." Celestia started to approach the cave, but paused when she didn't hear Luna following. She turned around to see her frozen where she stood, staring at the cave warily.

The unknown instinct in Luna's chest had finally dominated her. The buzzing feeling was so intense it made her shiver, like a hundred angry bees were trapped in her ribcage. Her vision blurred and her knees wobbled precariously. She barely comprehended that Celestia was waiting for her.

"I-I can't go in there." Luna whispered. Celestia came closer to her and said, "Don't be afraid of Grace, Luna."

"I'm not, I just... There's just something about this... this feeling. That presence. My body refuses to go any nearer to it."

Celestia was about to reply when a voice rasped from behind her, "Flesh nowadays has such a strong sense of self-preservation."

Celestia whipped around, but saw nothing. Only the blackness in the cave. "Grace?" she called out.

"Celestia." the shadow replied. As Celestia's eyes adjusted she started to see an inky silhouette crumbled up in the cave. "I remember when you were just a little thing," Celestia heard her pause to take a wheezy breath. "You were born during my era, so you're more accustomed to my energy. That one, though..." Luna tried to speak but the only thing that came out was a small squeak. Grace continued, "Have her touch on of those feathers. That should do the trick."

Celestia carefully levitated the feather amulet from the rock and brought it to Luna. She brushed the tip of one over her cheek, and Luna slowly stopped squirming. The buzzing in her chest quieted, as if what was previously thought to be a threat turned out to be warm and fuzzy and harmless. Luna blushed fiercely as Celestia replaced the amulet.

"I-I'm sorry, I-" She started.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, child. I don't believe I ever met you in person, but if I'm not mistaken-" Grace gasped and coughed briefly, "You must be Luna."

"Yes."

The silhouette shifted in the dark, as if trying to rise, but eventually plopped back down where it was. "You're going to have to come in here if you want to speak without shouting across the mountain. Oh, and one of you give us a bit of light, if you don't mind. "

Luna and Celestia stepped into the shadowy cave. The tip of Luna's horn began to glow, and a soft bead of watery light sprouted from it, circling around her as if in adoration. In then proceeded before them into the cave, splitting as it went. It spit in twos, then threes, then fours, and so on, until the walls of the cave were lined delicately with little pinpoints of light.

And there was Grace, lying on a bed of feathers and old grasses. The sisters were surprised at how sickly she appeared. Her feathers were dull and graying. Her shoulder blades protruded sharply from her back and her ribs were equally prominent. Her eyes were tired, and her wings lay out across the ground as if she had no strength to fold them on her back.

Her most shocking feature, though, was a bald stump were her left arm should have been. Despite their best efforts, Grace easily caught them staring.

"Oh, this old thing," She motioned to the stump with her other claw. "It was stolen from me a long time ago. When I was younger."

The Alicorns broke their gaze as Grace coughed again.

"Are you alright?" Luna asked. Grace looked at her with the deepest exhaustion. "I'm old, dear Luna. My body is finally catching up with my age. It won't be long now until the time comes for me to finally pass away."

Celestia stepped forward. "You can't die on us just yet, Grace. We need your help."

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware of the state of the world, Celestia. I know what must be done. The only question that remains, is should it be done?"

"What do you mean?" Luna asked. Grace trained her gaze on the two sisters. Her eyes were filled with an ancient wisdom that demanded acknowledgement. She stared at them for a moment before saying: "The laws that govern the Alicorns on high are the very same that I must follow. They were put down long ago; an ancient pact between the creatures of this world put in place to ensure that balance be maintained. You broke those laws by coming here. By walking the earth and casting your spells. Tell me, Alicorns, what law did you break?"

The sisters were silent for a moment. Luna's voice had sunken deep into her chest and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't summon it again. Finally it was Celestia who said: "The Alicorns are not to interfere under any circumstances."

"And your punishment?"

Celestia glanced at her sister, then back at Grace. "We were banished from our home. We will never be welcome there again." Despite her best efforts, Luna's head drooped slightly in despair.

"And so you should be," Grace said. "Why, then, do you ask me to commit your crimes? Am I to be banished from my home to worlds darker than this? For what? For the sake of you and your vendetta against the Draconequus? You were fools to leave your home."

"Vendetta?" Luna found her voice again. She lifted her head, forcing herself to stare directly into Grace's faded golden eyes. "You think this is about revenge? How dare you. You know nothing; Nothing of the suffering of the creatures on the ground while you sit here on your mountain, alone, above everything. Away from everything. How selfish you are to think that our lives matter at all when there are hundreds upon hundreds of innocent ponies living in torment beneath our feet!" Luna's eyes began to tear up. "How dare you think that any punishment is enough to keep you from helping them! I sat up there with the other Alicorns. I watched as everything living in Equestria became tainted and corrupted by Discord's poison. I refused to let it go on! If being banished was what it took to save Equestria then so be it! With all your power and all your wisdom... you waste it. Sitting here, keeping it for yourself and letting the world die below you..." Tears of anger and frustration filled Luna's eyes.

Grace replied slowly, "Disrespecting a griffon is never a good move, dear Luna. Remember, I'm the first griffon to ever exist in this world. I could with a flick of a talon send a spell into your bones that would tear you apart..."

Luna shook her head. "I don't care, go ahead. I will give anything and everything I have to saving this world. Celestia will too. If you were truly as great and powerful and wise as everyone made you seem, you would understand that."

There was a long pause. Luna didn't know what else to say, and Celestia didn't know how to respond to her sisters sudden outburst. She glanced nervously towards Grace, expecting her to flare up in anger at any moment and send them reeling from the cliffside. Griffons, she recalled, had always had a foul temper.

To her surprise Grace was actually looking at Luna with a look of simple satisfaction. "Very good," she said.

"What?" Luna asked.

"I will help you, dear Luna. But not as much as you would like. It's not my job to give you all the answers."

Celestia said, "We need information on Discord. We need to know what can defeat him."

Grace lifted her front claw. One of her talons glowed softly with a golden hue, flickering and spilling over like the delicate flame of a candle. "Magic..." she said. "it makes up everything that this world is. It binds everything together. It can be used and manipulated in many different ways. Ponies were given a special power over this magic. Pegasi ponies were gifted with the ability to walk on clouds and manipulate the weather. Unicorns were given the ability to directly interact with it, bending it to their will, limited and varied, of course, from unicorn to unicorn. Earth ponies have a special connection to the land and other creatures. Long ago, it was quite prominent. As time continues, however, I see it growing weaker and less noticeable. Or rather, the earth ponies are failing to see it in themselves."

"What does this have to do with Discord?" Celestia asked.

"Patience, Celestia. Although I must admit I did start to ramble a bit. Forgive me. I'm old, you see, and don't talk to people much so I go off on tangents now and again it would seem. Anyway...this," she lifted the glowing talon. "is the oldest, most ancient of magic. It never used to be so...physical. How does it feel?"

The sisters drew closer to the golden flame, feeling warmth coming off of it in waves. It wasn't just physical warmth. It was a deep, burning warmth that burrowed down deep into their hearts.

"It's warm," Celestia said.

"It's...strong. Brave," Luna said.

"Very good," Grace said. "The world grew and changed around me but my magic remained the same. Nowadays, it would be called 'Bravery.' In this world, everything has a name. Keeping that in mind, I will allow you a vital piece of information. A word...Harmony."

"Harmony?" the sisters said.

"It's a name. The name of a power as old as I am, perhaps more so. An ancient purifying magic. When I was young, it was my duty to watch over it and its components." Grace shifted her weight and from under her bed of feathers drew a rounded stone. It looked ordinary apart from that face that there was a strange colorful sheen to it. The stone was rather large compared to the Alicorns, fitting snugly in Grace's claws. "This is it. Long ago this is the vessel in which Harmony resided."

"But not anymore?" Celestia asked.

"The world was so simple, but things became bigger, more complicated. It went dormant a long time ago, but if you can reawaken it, it will be more than enough to stop Discord."

"And how do we awaken it?" Luna asked.

"In a world where everything has a name, Harmony does not know itself. You must name the five things that make up Harmony in this new world. Then it will answer your call."

"You know the names?" Celestia said.

"Yes."

"...But you can't tell us, can you?"

"I told you it's not my job to give you all the answers. To be honest I think I've given you more than enough to go on."

"I understand, and I thank you for your help. Will we be needing that?" She motioned to the stone in Grace's claw.

"Don't worry," she replied. "It will come to you at the opportune moment."

Luna said, "I can't thank you enough Grace. You've done more for us than I could have dreamed." Luna bowed to Grace with utmost respect. "Thank you."

"Oh, before you leave," Grace said. "I'll give you a riddle: In a world where everything has a name, what would your magic be called?" Celestia and Luna glanced at each other, then back at Grace. "Just something to mull over for a bit. Now off with you!" She flicked her remaining arm at them, shooing them away. As they were exiting the cave, Celestia was suddenly overcome with curiosity. She looked over her shoulder and said, "Grace, about your arm-"

"Discord has it now." she replied. "Let that be a warning to you, Celestia. There's a lot of power in those talons."

Author's Note:

I wrote the last section around midnight, plus I was having trouble trying to explain life before the world was 100% 'physical,' so the last part may be a bit confusing or make no sense at all. For that I apologize. I'm mostly just trying to get past the pre-Mane 6 era so I can move on to Fluttershy's part of the story. I'm not the best writer, I admit. But hang in there. This whole first half of the story is a bit fuzzy, even for me.


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